Azerbaijan, WHO co-host high-level roundtable on advancing health in global climate agenda at COP31
Antalya, November 10, AZERTAC
Azerbaijan, Brazil, and the World Health Organization (WHO) co-hosted a high-level roundtable on advancing health in the global climate agenda as part of COP31 in Antalya.
The event was held under the Baku COP Presidencies Coalition for Climate and Health, established jointly with partner countries and the WHO during Azerbaijan's COP29 presidency to ensure continuity in climate and health cooperation.
Opening remarks were delivered by Mukhtar Babayev, President of COP29 and Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Climate Issues, Alexandre Padilha, Brazilian Minister of Health, Aziz Alper Biten, Director-General for EU and Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Health of Türkiye, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
The roundtable also featured speeches by official representative of the Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, and Head of the Environmental and Occupational Health Section at the Ministry of Health and Prevention of the United Arab Emirates Moza AlKetbi.
Participants exchanged views on the progress achieved in climate and health since COP29, including the Belém Health Action Plan introduced at COP30 and the activities of WHO’s Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH). Discussions also focused on the Antalya Initiative on Resilience (AIR), proposed by Türkiye to strengthen the climate resilience of healthcare systems.
During the discussions, special emphasis was placed on building the resilience of health systems against the negative impacts of climate change, mobilizing relevant financial resources, implementing international climate and health commitments at the national level, as well as enhancing international cooperation and knowledge sharing.
